Former SU All-American Joe Ehrmann's helmet returned 40 years after it was lost in a brawl

Submitted photoFormer SU football player Joe Ehrmann recovered the helmet he lost in a brawl during a 1969 game at Wisconsin. The helmet has a decal commemorating the 100th anniversary of college football.Submitted photoFormer Syracuse football player Joe Ehrmann wears the helmet that he lost in a brawl at Wisconsin in 1969.Two days prior to Thanksgiving, a UPS box arrived at the Maryland office of former Syracuse University defensive tackle Joe Ehrmann. The package, addressed to Ehrmann, arrived unsolicited, its contents unknown, its sender a mystery.

As Ehrmann opened the container, he was jolted by a blast of vintage orange. It was a football helmet.

A quick inspection revealed a logo on the side and the No. 76 on the back. It smashed him between the eyes like a fullback. Ehrmann was holding his own SU helmet, the one he lost 40 years ago during a brawl at the end of a game against Wisconsin.

This was the ultimate time capsule. Ehrmann was thrilled — and a bit horrified — to be holding his old helmet again.

"It was really frightening," he said.

The scary parts included the construction of the so-called protective device. In an era of heightened awareness about concussions and head injuries in football, Ehrmann looked inside his old helmet and wondered about the potential damage inflicted and its residual effect on so many of his fellow Orangemen.

There was also the shock of history, of being transported to an event that took place 40 years ago, to a moment that had faded.

Ehrmann lost his helmet during a brawl at the end of Syracuse’s 43-7 victory over Wisconsin on Oct. 4, 1969. The game was played before a crowd of more than 45,000 at Camp Randall Stadium, the ancient home of the Badgers. John Godbolt scored twice and Al Newton rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown for the Orangemen of head coach Ben Schwartzwalder.

The final Syracuse touchdown came with 2 minutes, 21 seconds left in the game on a 63-yard run by Gregory Allen. The fight was sparked by Syracuse attempting a two-point conversion instead of the extra-point kick. Ehrmann said the reason for the attempt was a phone call to the Syracuse bench by Wisconsin athletics director Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch.

According to Ehrmann, Hirsch was tired of losing footballs in the stands after the five extra-point kicks made by George Jakowenko. Ehrmann said Hirsch neglected to inform Wisconsin coaches of his request on the two-point conversion. When Frank Ruggiero passed to Robin Griffin for the two-point play, the match was lit.

Near the game’s end, a freshman baseball player at Wisconsin named Fred Spytek wandered onto the track that circled the football field. He was with two of his roommates, both freshman football players. A fence separated the track from the team benches.

The Orangemen were successful on the two-point conversion, and the fight erupted. Ehrmann was thrown into the fence next to the students.

Spytek said his Wisconsin roommates, who had been "shooting the breeze," jumped into the melee. Football players and students were "wailing on Joe."

In the frenzy, Spytek yanked Ehrmann’s helmet off and raised it like a trophy. Fans cheered. With helmet in hand, he ran out of the stadium and back to his dorm room.

As the rush of the event subsided, the moment evolved into some dread. Spytek decided it was probably best to take the helmet and store it out of sight, so he hid it at his family home.

"It was a huge brawl," Ehrmann said. "I was in the middle of it. You certainly don’t want to lose your helmet in a fight on the field. That’s the last thing you want to lose. There were four or five people on me. I caught a couple of shots. I don’t remember a whole lot more."

Spytek, who finished second in the Big Ten Conference in home runs behind Minnesota’s Dave Winfield in 1973, said he knew he didn’t want to keep the helmet on campus.

"It was removed fairly quickly. At that point, I was more embarrassed than proud of what I did. I was 18 or 19. I was an idiot. I held onto it .¤.¤. until things cooled down 40 years later," he said tongue-in-cheek. "The statute of limitations had probably expired."

Spytek, 59, said he forgot about the helmet, which had been stored in his workshop along with old trophies. When the family recently moved from their 30-year home in Sussex to Pewaukee in Wisconsin, Spytek came across the helmet and decided it was time to make peace with his past.

He knew the helmet belonged to Ehrmann, whom he had followed. Ehrmann, a first-round pick of the Baltimore Colts in 1970, went on to play 13 professional seasons. He is a motivational speaker, a corporate trainer, an ordained minister and a writer. He is the subject of a book, "Season of Life," which sold more than 1 million copies.

Spytek decided it was time to return the helmet along with a letter of apology. He boxed it up and sent it by UPS.

Ehrmann, 61, said he’s pleased to have his Syracuse helmet back. He took it to the equipment manager of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens to reattach the face mask, which was included with the helmet in the box. Free safety Ed Reed of the Ravens inspected the Syracuse helmet and told Ehrmann it was "concussion central." Ehrmann said the helmet, with its petrified padding, is one step removed from a leather helmet.

The helmet with the 100-year anniversary of college football decal on the side commands a prized spot in the Ehrmann family home next to helmets from the Colts and Lions. Ehrmann said his sons — one of whom is a freshman linebacker at Wake Forest and another who plays lacrosse at Georgetown — think their father played football in the dark ages.

Ehrmann wrote a note of thanks to Spytek and sent him a copy of his book. He called its Thanksgiving return serendipitous because he’d just completed a three-hour conversation with Roy Simmons Jr., the former Syracuse lacrosse legend.

Ehrmann said Simmons was the most influential coach in his life. No sooner did he complete his chat with Simmons than he received a bolt from his Syracuse past, one that had a happy ending to a crazy day more than 40 years ago.

"I never had a Syracuse helmet," Ehrmann said. "It was really nice to have. It meant a great deal to me. It was a wonderful surprise. I look at it and think, my goodness, look at that thing."